For Lack of a Better Title
by LivingAtSomePointInTime
Summary: After the 10th War, deeming that they cause too many problems and are too dangerous to be kept alive, the government has issued a destruction order of all robot masters. Fearing for their lives, Blues, Rock, and Roll are now in hiding. To avoid being caught, they decide to blend in with the humans. Or, in which Rock and Roll go to school.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello! I'm LivingAtSomePointInTime. This is my first story, so maybe review? I'd like to know if people want more chapters._

 _Also, I started this as a stereotypical school AU, but then it evolved into something more. (At least in my head!) I'm kind of basing the characterization off the manga, but I've also been inspired a lot by other fanfictions. I hope they don't seem too OOC._

 _I think I might've made Blues a bit of a delenquient._

 _Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Megaman or any of its characters, please don't sue me._

* * *

"You want to do what now?"

Blues stopped tinkering with his buster arm and looked at Rock incredulously. It had been three months since the destruction order for all of Light's robot masters, and when they all gathered to discuss what they were going to do, it was Rock who had suggested hiding in various locations around the world. It was then decided that they would split into groups, to satisfy the need for companionship present in robot masters. Blues had volunteered to look after Rock and Roll, since they could no longer stay with Dr. Light. The group ended up going to a small town in Kansas called Louisburg, where they've been hiding in abandoned buildings and playing mind games to pass the time. Of course, after three months, Rock's child AI would get bored.

"Roll and I have decided that we want to go to school," Rock ventured. He was nervous to ask this of his brother, even though the worst he could do would be to say no. While Blues was… erratic at times, he would never harm his little brother for no reason, and Rock knew that. Still, his experiences during the Wily Wars caused him to be a little more anxious.

"Why on earth would you want to do that?" School, like a human school? Where people can order you to do things without meaning to, and children at that? Blues frowned a little and looked over his shades at Roll.

Realizing it was her turn to speak, she elaborated, "Well, we've been getting really bored, what with only so many things to clean and games to play before it feels repetitive. Since human children seem to enjoy going to school, Rock and I decided that we want to try it." She tugged a few strands of her hair, a nervous habit she developed around the Third War. "We look close enough to pass as human, and we've been around them all our lives. Maybe we could come up with aliases, to hide who we are? No one really knows what Rock looks like outside of armor anyway, and I'm sure not many people know who I am." She said that last part with a bit of contempt. Rock wasn't Light's only creation, and she had some impressive AI too!

"Do you realize what exactly that would entail? You would be in a building full of humans. The Three Laws would be going berserk, and when you could easily trip or bump into someone? That counts as harm, you know." He knew they knew that, but stating it helped him prove his point. "Plus there's the fact that you don't need to eat or breathe, not to mention your weight. Most ten year-olds with your physique don't weigh two hundred pounds," He finished calmly. He knew they couldn't argue.

Rock winced at that last bit. He had been told many times how heavy he was in comparison to a normal child, well, a normal _human_ child. He wanted to rebuke Blues' argument, but he knew he was right. There wasn't anything either of the twins could do other than make puppy-dog eyes at their older brother and hope he'd change his mind. Roll knew it too. That's why, when Blues stated his claim, she simply nodded and looked down. She wished he would change his mind, but she knew him well enough to know that he isn't easily swayed.

As Blues glanced at his disappointed siblings, he thought of researching it some more, to see if there truly wasn't a school they could go to without the fear of being discovered, and logged this for later. He didn't like it when they were upset. His exposed arm components became apparent to him, and he quickly finished what he had been working on and closed it up. He would have to get more information, and the Internet was not an option. Roll would kill him if he hacked into the Pentagon again. (Not that he wouldn't do it anyway)

* * *

Over the course of the next week, Blues spent his time researching schools in the district and nearby districts, and figuring out what would be required to get in. He kept the twins busy with a TV he'd found in the garbage and a PS3 with some games (that he'd stolen; Roll disapproved). As long as they weren't paying attention, he could focus most of his processing power on talking with some old acquaintances about forging legal documents. He had already come up with aliases for Rock and Roll, deciding that they could use their real names as nicknames if they wished. For himself, well…

 _Only family know me as Blues, so that name should suffice. As for the family name, since we're all technically the children of Light, what about Hikari? Both Rock and I could pass for Japanese, but Roll… an American mother? So that would make us Japanese-American._

As he idly thought this to himself on one processor, the other that wasn't focused on research was focused on the twins' safety. He made sure that they were always near him so they didn't wander off, and that they were out of the sights of anyone looking in. He noticed that they were anxious in their empathetic link—why did they even bother talking, he wondered?—and tried his best to soothe them. Roll, who had been petting Tango, visibly relaxed a bit, and Rock, though he continued to play Skyrim, sent an " _I'm alright"_ through the link.

With that taken care of for the most part, Blues' mind wandered back to the task at hand. _If this works out, how should I tell them? Should it be a surprise? Its mid-December already, so Christmas_ is _around the corner…_ As he pondered this, he thought of their previous Christmases. After getting on better terms with his family, though he didn't stay, he would always be sure to leave small presents for his younger brother and sister. _This will be their first Christmas without Dr. Light,_ he realized. When the destruction of his children was ordered, Light had pleaded with the government to cancel it. Wily's robots actually ended up helping them escape, hacking the plant to make it seem like they had been destroyed, and then housing a few of them in abandoned fortresses.

Rock and Roll, having lived with Dr. Light all their lives, were extremely upset that they had to leave him. They knew why they had to, though. It wouldn't do to have a human travel with them, especially at his age. Fortunately, Blues was able to make a connection hidden enough for them to talk, but only occasionally, as he didn't want to be found out.

He suddenly got a message in the corner of his vision that the documents he wanted were finished. After downloading them, he looked them over and made the necessary changes, adding their aliases and fake birthdays (Both Rock and Roll were ten, and Blues put himself as eighteen, even though he was only 5'3") along with some other details. When he was finished, he saved the documents and resumed looking at schools. It would have to be a small one, one where people weren't likely to recognize them as robots. As he scrolled through the options, he adjusted his scarf for the umpteenth time that day.

Stopping on one, he looked at the details. _This one looks out of the way enough. It says it's K-5, they'd be in the 5_ _th_ _grade, right?_ He'd admit he wasn't an expert in human education, but he knew enough to know that they'd be starting in the middle of the school year. Which was fine, really, they already knew everything the humans would be learning. _So if I go ahead and enroll them, they'll start in January. That's not unusual, is it?_

He sighed. A week of no sleep was taking its toll on his systems. Letting some programs run in the background, he decided to take a nap. After letting his siblings know, he immediately got a request to snuggle with him, courtesy of Rock. Having finished his game, he was staring at Blues, who accepted the request and let him curl up next to him. He invited Roll over, who didn't feel like sleeping, and said she'd keep watch. Respecting her wishes, he pulled Rock a little closer and drifted off.


	2. Chapter 2

As Christmas got closer, the weather grew colder. It had already snowed two feet, and didn't look like it would be stopping any time soon, which meant that the trio of Light-bots were stuck inside. For Rock and Roll, that meant perpetual boredom, as Rock had already beaten all of his games five times over, and Roll had already cleaned every inch of their living space. But for Blues, that meant more time to work on his side project of getting the twins into school. He already had a fake ID, and had all the papers necessary to enroll them, but he still needed school supplies and clothes. He had been planning on taking the two shopping, but the weather got in the way.

He was going to tell them about their Christmas present early, so he could teach them how to pretend to be human, and since none of them had anything better to do, he decided now was the time. Beckoning them over through their link, he gestured for them to sit down in front of him. After they were seated, he began.

"Rock, remember when you asked me if you could go to school?"

Rock fidgeted a little. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, I've looked at a few schools in the district, and I've found one where you'd probably be safe as long as you only went for a little bit." Blues paused as their faces lit up, and smiled a bit. "I have all the paperwork needed, we just need to get you some supplies. I'll teach you how to not expose yourself as best I can, but if anything happens," His face went serious again, "I'll have to take you out." He was caught off guard by Roll running up and practically tackling him.

"Thank you so much!" She squealed excitedly.

"Yes, thank you!" Rock added.

"No problem. Consider it an early Christmas present."

* * *

Christmas came and went, and, after making a few trips to various stores and using some money Dr. Light had insisted they take with them before they left Japan, the Light twins were finally ready for school. The drive there was filled with an air of anticipation, with Rock looking out the window excitedly and Roll giggling at his enthusiasm. Blues had "borrowed" a car so he could take them, and pick them up when the school day ended. He had made sure there was only one floor to the building, and that there was concrete underneath, as otherwise he'd have to worry about them denting the floor. As they reached the front office, one of the school faculty walked up to greet them.

"Hello! I take it you two are the new students?" She looked down at Rock, and then over to Roll. "I'm Mrs. Johnson, and I'll be your teacher." After two well-mannered greetings from both of them, she turned her attention to Blues. "And you are their… father?"

"Legal guardian," he corrected immediately, almost harshly. He was tense, but only Rock could tell. It was no secret that Blues wasn't on the best terms with either of his "fathers".

"Ah, my apologies." She looked back to Rock and Roll. "School will be starting soon, how about I show you where my room is?"

* * *

As Rock waited outside the door with his sister, he couldn't help but feel nervous. He was going to see what a human school is like! He wondered if anyone would try to talk with him. Back when he was still in Japan, and everyone knew him as Rockman, most people treated him like a celebrity. Well, humans did. Aside from wartime, he didn't really get to interact much with other robot masters besides Roll, as his younger brothers were always away and he didn't normally talk to the Wily-bots outside of combat, but they at least treated him like a person. (Blues just kind of showed up at random and then disappeared for long periods of time, so he wasn't really an option either.)

A nudge from Roll told him it was time to enter the classroom, and as they were walking in, Rock began to notice the whole class staring at them. His core fluttered a bit.

"—welcome Ryan and Ruth Hikari to the class. Now, why don't you tell us a little about yourselves? Ryan, how about you go first." Mrs. Johnson gestured to Rock.

"Well, um, I usually go by Rock, and I'm Japanese-American," he said, remembering the cover story. "And this is my sister, who goes by Roll. Get it? Rock and Roll." Some of the class giggled, and he looked over at Roll.

She stared awkwardly at the class, and quietly said, "I'm really good at organizing things." Public speaking obviously wasn't her strong suit. A few kids looked at her weird, but other than that she didn't get much feedback. Rock assured her that she did fine over their link.

"Rock and Roll, huh?" Mrs. Johnson chuckled. "Cute. Now then, take a seat, and we'll begin where we left off before Christmas break."

Rock chose a seat fairly close to the door, and sat down. Looking at the different faces around him, he noted that they all appeared to be around his age. Mrs. Johnson then began talking about various conventions, and Rock turned his attention back to her. While he already knew everything there was to know about grammar and punctuation, he absorbed the lesson as best he could (having a perfect memory did have its perks) and did the assigned worksheet. Once finished, he sat quietly at his desk and messaged Roll, who had finished .7 seconds before him and was idly drawing on her paper.

 _ **"Are all the assignments this easy?"**_

 _"Probably. They are only human, after all."_

Rock wondered what it would be like to only be able to have one train of thought, and frowned a bit. He then noticed that he and Roll were the only ones done. _That would be very difficult_ , he thought. Now a bit bored, he decided to examine the room they were in. The walls were a dull white, and so was the tile ceiling. There were a few overhead lights built in, though one of them appeared to be burnt out. He had the sudden urge to fix it, but suppressed it. Wouldn't want to stand out. The floor was multi-colored, and the desk he was sitting at had a cubby hole in the bottom to put his stuff.

He continued glancing around the rather bland room, and saw the teacher sitting at her desk in a corner, reading. The woman looked to be in her mid-thirties, and had her dyed-blonde hair was in a messy bun. She was wearing blue blouse and slacks, and had an enormous purse by her chair that suggested children. (Not that Rock would know that.) There was a computer in front of her, though she wasn't looking at it. Rock found the network it was attached to and began to hack into it to pass the time, before remembering that he wasn't authorized to do that. Blues' disregard for authority was rubbing off on him, apparently.

He sighed, and checked his internal clock. There was still 20 minutes of class left. Wishing it would move faster, he sent Blues a request to make an encryption for him to deconstruct. A response came within a few seconds, asking if he wasn't enjoying himself, which was laced with sarcasm. He replied immediately, stating that, _"I am, thank you very much, I just finished my assignment early and need something to pass the time."_ A nanosecond later he was sent a folder with his new toy. He spent the rest of the class period slowly gnawing at its defenses, while being sure to stay alert on his second processor. When the bell rang signaling lunch, he quickly met up with Roll, who was talking with another student.

* * *

It was not long after Roll had finished her worksheet that her brother messaged her. She could feel his disappointment in such easily completed assignments, but didn't really expect that much from humans, and barely developed ones at that. Blues really was a bit of a bad influence on them both. She replied swiftly, and then began to doodle on her paper. She would admit she wasn't an artist, but there was something pleasant about creating. Her brother had always been fighting, destroying others of their kind to save the humans from Dr. Wily, and she hated it. Hated that he had to fight, hated that it wasn't her out there in his place. Sometimes she wondered why he didn't just give up. The humans would never appreciate all the good that robot masters had done for them, or even recognize them as people. They had already proven that with the destruction order.

But not all humans were that way, she knew. There were plenty of humans like Dr. Cossack and Kalinka, who treated robots with kindness. Heck, even Dr. Wily wasn't abusive to his robots, and he'd tried to take over the world on far too many occasions for her taste. That's why she liked human children. They were blank slates, a new generation full of potential, of hope. She hoped that if she were to pretend to be one of them, they'd see her for who she was, not what she was. That they'd treat her like a person. Dr. Light had treated her like his child, and she was grateful for that, but never had she been treated with respect from a human who wasn't one of the doctors or Kalinka. Robot masters, sure, they were like her, but a human? Her thoughts were interrupted when the person sitting next to her got her attention.

"You're Roll, right? Or do you want me to call you Ruth?" The girl asked quietly. She had light brown hair that ended at her shoulders and was wearing glasses. Her assignment was face-down in front of her, indicating that it was finished.

"Roll is fine. What's your name?" Roll noticed the girl seemed shy.

"I'm Rachel. Your hair is very pretty," The child said, blushing a bit. Roll didn't know what to say. It wasn't every day she was complimented on her appearance, other than people marveling at how human she looked.

"Ah, thank you very much. You look nice too," She whispered back. Right then, the bell rang. As the students around them packed up their things and left, Rachel got up and began to walk away, before thinking of something and coming back.

"Do you wanna sit with me at lunch?" Rachel asked, looking hopeful. Roll, realizing that this could pose a potential problem, was about to politely decline, when Rock showed up. _Right in the nick of time_ , she thought, grateful that she now had an excuse.

"Sorry, I promised I'd sit with my brother. It was nice meeting you though!" Roll added, hoping it wouldn't come across as her not wanting to befriend the mousy-haired girl. She turned towards aforementioned brother, and started to head for the lunchroom, but not before seeing the disappointed look on Rachel's face.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello again! I apologize for my absence, but I was having a bit of writer's block._

 _Thank you to Kaguya 2.0 for reviewing! ^^ I might not have continued this story if you hadn't._

 _Sorry the chapters are so short, I have trouble separating them._

 _Also, I will eventually come up with a proper title!_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman, Capcom does. (Unfortunately)_

* * *

As she sat down to eat her slice of pizza, Rachel's mind wandered to the peculiar new kids, particularly Roll. While still a bit disappointed that she declined sitting with her, she understood that it was hard to change schools. It'd take them a while to get used to it. She'd never seen anyone get done with their work so fast though, and she wondered what kind of a school they went to before moving here. Their parents must be very proud to have such smart children. She began to feel a little inadequate, as it took her much longer to finish. It didn't last long though, as she caught a glimpse of a green ribbon out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look.

 _…Roll?_ Rachel noticed that she was sitting at a table alone with her brother, and neither of them had any food in front of them. _Can they not afford food?_ She glanced down at her own foam tray, which had a half-eaten slice of pizza, a salad, and some orange slices on it. As she looked back to them, she noticed that their clothes didn't seem new. They were worn, and not quite the right size, which only seemed to further support her hypothesis. She decided to give them her oranges, as she didn't really like the fruit cups the school offered anyways. Nervously, she got up from her seat and quietly walked over to their otherwise empty table.

"Um, you guys looked kinda hungry, so… here." Rachel handed her fruit cup to Roll shyly. Roll looked like she was about to protest, but Rachel quickly went back to her own table. She had done it! Hopefully they wouldn't be hungry anymore. She glanced over at her table, only to see that Roll was giggling at Rock, who was trying to open the cup. He finally pulled so hard that the entire cup flew open and spilled orange syrup all over their table. Roll burst out laughing, before getting up to get napkins. As she cleaned up the mess of oranges, Rachel realized that they weren't going to eat it. Had they already eaten? She pondered over this as she bit into her pizza. Something seemed off about those two, but she couldn't figure out what. Deciding to leave the topic alone, she swallowed the rest of her pizza and started on her salad.

* * *

After lunch was recess, which Roll enjoyed well enough. It was almost canceled, due to how cold it was, but eventually it warmed up enough for them to go outside. Though the twins weren't really bothered by the cold, they were bundled up in heavy coats, gloves, and snow boots. As they played, Rock was very careful not to show off his inhuman strength, as Roll made sure to remind him multiple times. They had never been to a playground before. Eventually, Rock took an interest in sitting on the monkey bars and watching the other children, while his sister attempted to play kickback with the guys. When she asked them to play, the majority laughed and said she couldn't play because she was a girl. This confused her, as she wasn't sure what gender had to do with kicking a ball back and forth. She asked them what they meant, and one of the boys said she'd just hold them back.

A little miffed at their behavior, Roll grabbed a ball and kicked it. She kicked it hard, despite trying to hold back to only what a human is capable of. The ball soared above the snow-covered field, over the fence, and landed in the street. The boy that had spoken looked dumbfounded. Now uninterested in playing with them, Roll simply walked away. The boys began to chase after her for losing their ball, but realized that they'd better rescue it from the street, or they'd get in trouble.

As she was walking, Roll spotted Rachel sitting under some of the playground equipment, reading a book. She sat down beside her, and asked what she was reading. Rachel looked up.

"It's Harry Potter, the fourth one," she said quietly. "Why?" she asked.

"Oh, just curious," Roll replied. "Which one is that one?"

"The one with the Triwizard Tournament."

"Ah, I like that one." There was a long pause. She wasn't sure what to say next, but luckily Rachel was.

"What school did you come from?"

This took Roll off guard. She wasn't expecting to be asked about this, but she remembered the cover story, and answered, "We were homeschooled."

"Oh," Rachel said. She bookmarked her place and set her book down. "You worked really fast this morning, you must be really smart." She smiled a little. "I'm sure your parents are proud."

Roll stopped. What was she supposed to say about her family? Could she tell this girl about Blues? And what about parents, would she say hers were dead? Abroad? She frantically messaged Rock, hoping he'd know.

 _What am I supposed to say about our parents?_

 _ **I… I'm not sure. Say they're out of town? Or just don't mention them.**_

 _Too late for that, I've already been asked._

 _What did they say?_

 _Blues?_ Roll had forgotten to use her and Rock's private connection, and had accidentally sent her message to their family network. Not the Light network, thankfully, but the small one shared between her, Rock, and Blues. _She said my parents must be proud._

 _Just nod, and don't elaborate unless she specifically asks. Besides, since Dr. Light has always been proud of you two, and I'm technically your legal guardian as of now, and proud of you as well, you're not really lying._

 _Thanks, Blues._

 _ **Good luck, sis.**_

As this entire conversation took place in under 2 seconds, she was able to do as she was advised without arousing suspicion. However, her response did make her seem a bit arrogant, which caused Rachel to raise an eyebrow. Roll decided to change the subject back to Harry Potter, and the two chatted idly until the bell rang.

* * *

The rest of the day was rather uneventful, as all that was left was a few classes. Rock recalled music class being rather entertaining, as the teacher marveled at how well he and Roll could read music. When your name is Rock, your sister's name is Roll, your older brother and the person taking care of you is called Blues, and your rival's name is Forte, you're going to learn a thing or two about music.

As for the rest of his classes, he was extremely bored in math, to which he messaged Blues to send him another encryption, because he'd already broken through the first one. He only half payed attention to science, as he already knew everything that was current in that field, but he was a little curious to see what was average for someone his apparent "age". The only class that he actually learned something in was social studies, as he wasn't very knowledgeable about government in general, let alone the U.S. government.

At the end of the day, he and Roll waited outside for Blues to pick them up. It was cold outside, and most of the other kids were riding the bus, but Rock didn't mind. Even if Blues' illegally acquired car didn't have any heat, they were robots, and couldn't die of hypothermia. Said vehicle was a silver Toyota, and was pulling into the line for parents picking up their children. It looked quite comical, as Blues could barely see over the steering wheel. Rock giggled a little, and nudged Roll, who had been staring idly at the ground, most likely playing a game to pass the time.

She looked up, and when it was their turn, they both climbed into their ride. The trio were fairly silent for the way home, but not because of lack of conversational topics. The twins had already summarized their day to Blues using their link, while they were waiting, and Rock was now a little tired. Blues, apparently sensing this, ruffled his hair and told him to stay awake, as he wanted him to be alert. Some may have questioned that last part, but Rock simply nodded, and decided he'd take some time to recharge when they got home. Blues was the one taking care of them now, and Rock would trust his judgement, even if he didn't understand it all. What he said did make him a bit more wary, though.

* * *

 _Please tell me what you guys think of it! I'd really like some constructive criticism._


	4. Chapter 4

_Rock was terrified. Dr. Light had just come back from a meeting, and a big one. One that would determine the fate of Robot Masters as a whole. His face was grim, as he told his children the verdict. Roll started crying._

 _It had been ordered that Dr. Light's Robot Masters were to be decommissioned. All of them. Including the ones he was speaking to. They were deemed too dangerous to be kept active, and for all the good they had done, the government proclaimed that destroying them would help put an end to Wily's attempts on the world. That killing the only person capable of fighting Wily's robots was a good idea._

 _Rock was utterly shocked, he didn't think that, after the first two times, the humans would actually succeed in destroying his race. Wasn't that what they would call genocide? He realized that he would not be permitted to stay here, for he knew that Blues would not tolerate their destruction. The rest of his brothers and sisters were probably coming up with a plan at that very moment. He hugged his creator. What would happen to him? If he and Roll weren't there, what would happen to Dr. Light? And what if Wily attacked again?_

 _At that thought, he found himself crying as well. He didn't want to leave his father! As his distress levels rose, he heard someone teleport in behind him. Reluctant to let go of Dr. Light, he turned his head, though he already knew who it was. Roll looked over as well._

 _Blues stood there, an unreadable expression on his face. Rock could tell that he was communicating with many others very rapidly, most likely the other Light-bots. He looked over to Dr. Light, whom he rarely addressed._

" _I have a job for you." His voice betrayed no emotion. "It has been addressed that your children are scheduled to be decommissioned on Friday. As they do not wish to die, a plan to fool the government was needed. After much discussion, copies were suggested," And he paused after this, giving the information time to sink in. "They need your help," he stated, careful not to say 'we', as he was adamant on refusing any help from his creator._

" _Decoys for each individual unit will be provided by the Wily Numbers, as they still have the plans for all of them, and with enough of their robots working on the bodies, they should be finished in under two days. What they need you to do is the programming. Basic functions, such as walking, are all that's required. They are to be machines only, with nothing extra, as we do not want to lose any more life. I would do it myself, but I need to secure a location where we can plan our next course of action." He stopped, and accepted Rock's request to link, sending him a somewhat comforting feeling. Rock knew that Blues didn't want to make him sad._

 _As Dr. Light began to discuss the specifications with Blues, Rock started a private conversation with the older unit._

' _ **What if we went into hiding?'**_

' _Where?'_

' _ **Somewhere obscure, where robots aren't as common. Somewhere where the Japanese government won't find us.'**_

'… _I'll discuss it with the others.'_

 _Roll seemed to be deciding whether or not to join the conversation occurring out loud, eventually giving in and speaking her thoughts._

" _What will happen to Rock and I? We obviously can't continue to stay with Dr. Light…" She had stopped crying some time before Blues arrived, but her voice still wavered._

 _Blues seemed to consider her query, before replying, "I will take you."_

 _Her eyes went wide, and she started to object. "But-"_

 _Dr. Light then interrupted her. "He's right, you know. You can't stay here, it's too dangerous." He looked down. "As much as it's not right for my children to have to go into hiding to keep from being punished for a crime they didn't even commit, it's necessary." And, from the look on his face, he knew that if they left now, they wouldn't be allowed to return in his lifetime. It just wouldn't be safe._

 _Roll looked down. Rock put a hand on her shoulder, and spoke up._

" _I'll help you with the programming, Father. We have a couple days, right?"_

 _While Blues didn't flinch at the familial term used to refer to the good doctor, Rock could tell that he wanted to._

" _Of course, Rock. I'd be happy to have you help me,' Dr. Light responded, smiling sadly._

* * *

 _The day had come, and it was time for the twins to leave. Dr. Light stood in the backyard with his creations, his children. The duplicates were made and ready, and they only had a few hours before the NPA would come to pick them up. Blues addressed him directly._

 _"When we have found a suitable living space, I will contact you." Though surprise was evident on the doctor's face, Blues seemed to pay little mind to it. He turned to Rock and Roll._

 _'Are you ready?' He sent to them._

 _Rock glanced back at Dr. Light. It wasn't likely he'd ever see him again. He ran over to him and hugged his creator, not wanting to leave. Roll did the same, and soon both of them were sobbing again. Blues watched the display for several minutes, before pulling at the children through their link. It was time to go._

 _They reluctantly let go of their father, both of them still crying, before going to stand next to their brother, taking each of his hands. Dr. Light and his eldest stared at each other for a long moment, before Blues turned away and teleported him and his siblings out._

* * *

Blues was awake and alert before Rock had even finished booting. He could feel through their link that Rock was having a nightmare, or at least a distressing dream. As he awoke with a start, Blues was already reassuring him, both physically and empathetically, that he was here, and no, he wasn't going anywhere.

"Shh, it's okay. It's over now." While he may not be known for being comforting, he could at least attempt to calm his brother down.

"I…" Rock began. "I miss Dr. Light…" He began to cry softly.

Blues sent as many comforting feelings as he could through their link, and wrapped an arm around Rock. He knew Roll would be waking up soon, and that she was better at this than he was, but he still didn't like seeing the child so upset.

"I know you do." As much as he wanted to make Rock feel better, he knew there was nothing he could do in this situation except reassure him. He pet the younger unit's head affectionately, as the child's sobs grew quieter.

He only let go of Rock as Roll started to stir, deciding to let her handle the situation, though he was still trying to calm Rock through the link. When she realized that her twin was upset, Roll enveloped Rock in a tight embrace, rubbing on his back soothingly.

"Hey, it's okay," she whispered. "I miss him too. Do you want to have Blues try to contact him after school tomorrow?" she suggested, and though she knew that it wasn't either of their decision whether or not Blues would contact their creator, she sounded almost certain that he would do it to make Rock feel better.

Rock nodded slowly. "I-If it's not too much trouble…"

Blues made a mental note to build a few more support units for Rock, if only to give him more companions. Complete isolation from the rest of his family and friends was taking a toll on the small Robot Master. Hopefully he made some friends at school, as socialization, a very necessary thing for their kind, was part of the reason Blues even let them go.

Even if it was among humans.

As if realizing the time, Roll pulled away from Rock suddenly, smiled and suggested they go back to sleep, as they had school in the morning. Blues didn't object, though he couldn't truly sleep because of the nature of his core. Shifting back into a comfortable position on the makeshift bed Blues had put together, Rock curled up next to his sister, who responded by loosely draping her arm around his midsection.

As he watched the two drift off, Blues committed the sight to memory, and then leaned closer to them, protectively. Fairly comfortable, after double-checking that his siblings were indeed asleep, he took off his sunglasses, setting them to the side, and idled into his equivalent of sleep.

* * *

 _I'm sorry this chapter's so short. n I'm very busy with life._

 _As for the title, I think I'll come up with a better one after I'm more certain of where I want to go with this story. It was originally just going to be short, simple, and fluffy, but it actually got fairly sad, haha..._

 _I may move this chapter forward later on._


	5. Chapter 5

Over the course of the next few days, Rock and Roll quickly got into the school routine. Listen to the teacher talk, do the assignment, wait for class to end, go to the next class, repeat. Roll would hang out and talk with Rachel at recess, and Rock would play basketball with some of the guys. At lunch, they'd chat about their classes and whatever else happened that day, while drinking E-Tanks disguised as soda.

Nobody really questioned their presence in the school. Blues was relieved. With no disturbances happening, he could work in peace. Or, relative peace, considering their hideout was near a highway. He rolled up his sleeves, and resumed his progress on Rock's new support unit. It wasn't quite halfway finished, as he didn't have all the materials he needed, but he could still work on fine-tuning the parts he did have finished. If he wasn't productive, it bugged him. That was something he shared in common with all of his siblings.

As he finished one of the legs on the robot bunny, he decided to take a breather, as his core was becoming somewhat irritated. He set down his tools, grabbed an E-Tank, and plopped down on the couch. Flipping through some channels on the television, he landed on a news station that was broadcasting footage from one of the Wily Wars.

It was the Fifth War, judging by the robots Rock was shown to be fighting with.

"—after the destruction order of all of Dr. Thomas Light's robot masters in Japan, the authorities have been searching for the one lone unit that didn't show up." The footage shifted to an image of Blues, in armor, assisting Rock. "Some say that the mysterious robot shown in the image being shown is none other than DLN-000 Blues, otherwise known as Proto Man. His whereabouts are currently unknown, but if you suspect he might be near, please call us at—"

Blues turned off the TV and swore. Most thought he had been destroyed decades ago, how did they figure out that Proto Man was actually him?! He was lucky they hadn't shown a picture of him out of armor, but he was still in danger. And that meant that so were Rock and Roll. As he started to head off to take them away from the school, he stopped as he realized that would just draw more attention to himself. His mind was racing, all of his processors rapidly searching for a possible route of escape. He needed time.

An idea struck him. He hacked into the phone lines, and pinpointed where the broadcast had come from. When he found the number he was looking for, he quickly used a phone he had found (and modified to cloak his location) to dial it. After about a minute of waiting, someone finally picked up.

"This is the Louisburg World News station, how can I help you?"

"I know where Proto Man is."

There was a pause. "You do? Where?"

It took Blues half a second to give the lady on the other line a set of coordinates in Nigeria.

"Oh? Thank you, I'll forward these to the Japanese police force."

He smirked and hung up. They took the bait.

Contacting Ring Man to inform him of what had occurred, he collected up the various parts scattered on the table into a neat little bundle using a blanket. He then set the bundle in a corner, draping his trench coat across it so the twins wouldn't mess with it.

Sitting back down on the couch, Blues opened up a connection that had not been active in years…

* * *

Rock went to find Roll at the front of the building, where they waited for Blues to pick them up every day. It was Friday, which meant that there was no school tomorrow. As he sat down next to Roll, he overheard part of a conversation from some passing students.

"—did you see on the news? About that robot from Japan that went missing?"

"I don't watch the news. What happened?"

"So you know those really advanced robots they have in big cities nowadays? Well, apparently there was some sort of destruction order in Japan, but one of them didn't show up. A lot of people thought he'd already been destroyed, but—"

That was all Rock managed to hear. He was shaking slightly. _People know about Blues? Does that mean we'll have to move again? What if they find us?!_ Memories of rescuing his brothers from the first destruction order flooded his mind. Feeling his dread, Roll asked him what was wrong over their personal link. He rapidly told her what he had heard. Her face went pale, an eerie reminder of how human she was made to be, and her "breathing" increased.

 _"Should we tell Blues?"_

 _ **"…I don't know."**_

Almost as if on cue, Blues' truck pulled up. As the two 'bots piled in, they exchanged worried glances, but decided to hide their apprehension for the time being. Blues had enough to worry about. Rock hoped that the kids at school were talking about some other robot, even though he knew they were talking about his older brother.

* * *

No matter how much they tried to hide it, Blues caught that glimpse of fear in his siblings' eyes. They must've found out somehow. He mentally cursed. _I'm going to have to deal with this, aren't I?_ Even with one processor devoted to the task at hand, he still swerved when someone went in front of him. _What a jerk._ He honked, a little annoyed, but regained his composure a millisecond later. Rock looked at him, a little shaken, and Blues sent a feeling of 'it's alright' through their personal link. He pulled into the ditch near the warehouse and shut off the engine.

As they all got out and went inside, Blues thought of possible ways things could go. Seeing as most of the ones where he and his siblings lived involved taking them out of school, he wasn't looking forward to the future. As much as he wanted them to be happy, their safety was his first priority. _Speaking of which, I should probably teach Roll how to use that buster I installed…_ Luckily, he knew that there would be an escape route for Rock and Roll even if he were incapacitated, whether they were armed or not. They probably wouldn't like it, though.

* * *

Ever since Rock had told her what he heard, Roll had been trembling. Not so much that it was very noticeable, but to a robot master that had perfect control of all of their motor functions, slight trembling either meant fear or malfunction. She knew that Blues would notice eventually, even if she had blocked him from her emotions. (That in itself was another telltale sign that she was hiding something) She sighed, and messaged Rock; it was time.

They both stood in front of Blues, who was sitting on the couch seemingly staring off into space. They knew better. If he was talking to other robot masters, that meant he already knew. He shifted and looked at the two. Probably. With those shades, one can never be too sure of where he's actually looking.

"So you heard, huh?" he deadpanned. He didn't seem surprised in the slightest.

Rock immediately replied with a, "We're not gonna have to move again, are we? Please don't make us drop out of school!" Roll punched his shoulder.

Blues, however smirked a little. "Not yet. I gave them fake coordinates, so it should be a while before they realize I'm not in Nigeria." Rock didn't look comforted.

"But—What if they figure it out? What if they find one of the others?!" This time, Roll entered the conversation.

"There aren't any in Nigeria. And even if there were, you know they'd be underground by now." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Besides, even if they did find us, we can teleport, they can't."

"I promise I won't let them take you. For now, I'll permit you to stay in school. Be on guard, though, and if you think anyone is starting to figure it out then tell me immediately." Blues sighed. "I've already secured emergency locations where we can plan our next course of action, but I don't want it to come to that," he finished. He didn't mention that he already had someone keeping an eye on them while they were at school.

* * *

 _I'm sorry for being absent for so long! I kinda lost muse for awhile..._

 _But anyway, here's the next chapter! I think it might be kinda short, but ehhh_

 _Please review! Tell me whatcha think! ( ; v ; )/)_


	6. Chapter 6

_Here's a longer chapter, since the last one was so short._

* * *

Since the twins didn't have school on Saturday, and thus would have nothing to do, Blues went out and stole a Gameboy while they were asleep. He made sure Rush kept guard, and had Tango update him if anything happened. As he was looking through some games and trying to choose some they'd like, he got the feeling he was being watched. He had already shorted out the security cameras, and hacked past all of the extra precautions, so what…?

A blur of movement. He stuffed some games in his inner coat pocket and turned sharply, ready to arm his buster if necessary. While he knew it would instantly out him if he was seen or heard, his battle programming was taking control. This scene was too familiar. _'Someone's there,'_ sang the Third Law, deep in his core. _'They'll attack you.'_ He knew it was probably just a stray cat, but he'd been wrong before. As he tried to form a counter argument to the Third Law's reasoning, he heard a crash.

He froze. It was becoming increasingly apparent to him that he wasn't wearing armor, his programming still screaming at him that he was in danger. What if this was the government, come to take him away? Memories he normally suppressed came back to the surface, and he forcibly pushed them back down, telling himself that no, it wasn't them, they wouldn't catch him, he'd be fine. His thoughts then wandered to his sleeping siblings, and anxiety took over. _What if they found them? They'd be deactivated for sure._ He started to feel a little sick, as his core began to act up. No longer able to care about being caught, his programming overrode his will momentarily and teleported him out.

Once back in the warehouse, he took a shaky breath. That was too close. If anyone had seen him teleport out, they'd have reported it immediately. He made sure to disable any communications within a two-mile radius of the game store. The Third Law, now fairly convinced that he was not in any immediate danger, went back to its usual murmur. He sighed.

Noticing Blues' entrance, Rock started to stir, and there was nothing Blues could do to keep him from asking, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Blues took a moment to answer, but finally said, "It's nothing. Go back to sleep."

Rock studied Blues, and noticed that he was very pale. Fragments of memories long forgotten attempted to make their way to the surface, but he couldn't quite grasp them. He then noticed that Blues was shaking.

"It's obviously not nothing. Tell me what happened."

Thinking up an excuse as quick as he could, Blues said, "I'll tell you in the morning."

Rock looked skeptical. He knew Blues, and how in the past 'I'll tell you in the morning' meant he'd be gone before he woke up. But he also knew that he rarely broke promises that he made to Rock.

"Promise?"

Blues sighed. He was really going to regret this, wasn't he? "Promise."

Now satisfied that Blues was in no apparent danger, Rock settled back down and drifted off. With Rock asleep, Blues quietly collapsed and clutched his chest. He made sure to block them from his emotions, as he didn't want them to feel his pain and wake up. They didn't need to know about this. He thought about blocking Rock's memories of their encounter, but rejected the idea. His siblings had a right to know what had happened at the shop, and that they may still be in danger. Or that their brother was extremely paranoid, but they already knew that.

His core lurched, and a burning pain went through his torso. His hands immediately began clawing at his chest, digging into the fabric of his shirt. _God, why now?!_ The pain intensified, and it felt as though he had been shot by a fully charged plasma blast. Blues groaned softly. He had tried his best to keep the fact that his core was unstable from reaching Rock or Roll, and while he knew he was due for another attack, he really wished it had been while they were at school. At least it was at night, though.

He hunched over as another spark of pain shot from his core. The blasted, angry, uncooperative thing Wily had installed. While it meant he didn't have to recharge, and made his buster shots deadly, it also caused a lot of problems for him. He couldn't push himself for that reason; he was always teetering on the edge of the red zone. That's also why he had a shield. One good shot to his core, and half the country would be gone. While he wasn't necessarily fond of the humans, he certainly didn't want that to happen. Too many casualties for one old robot's death.

The attack went on for another agonizing half-hour, before finally subsiding. He was still shaking, and his breathing was heavy, but the worst was over. Blues took a few moments to collect himself and pop open an E-Tank, before settling down on the sofa next to Rock. He remembered the last time this had happened. It was after the fight with King, and he had just been put back together. Rock was horrified when the attack had happened, and it caused him so much anxiety that Blues had to block off the child's memory of the incident. Such a worrywart. Careful not to wake said little brother, Blues unblocked some of his emotions and loosely put an arm around Rock before going into a resting state.

* * *

As she ate her breakfast, Rachel's mind wandered back to the two peculiar new students. She had become friends with Roll, and they shared some similar interests, but she didn't really know much about her home life or where she came from. Her brother, Rock, was also a strange one. He didn't seem like the type of kid to be quiet in class, but he almost never talked during lessons. In fact, he didn't really seem to have any friends. Rachel had seen him playing with a group of boys at recess, but didn't see them talk otherwise.

It was odd, really, how obedient they were. Most of the other kids in her class were talkative and loud, or at the very least bored in class. But Rock and Roll… They payed attention. They got their assignments done early, and scored perfect on the test they took on Friday. Whenever a teacher told them to do something, they'd do it without hesitation.

Actually, now that she thought about it, whenever _anyone_ told them to do something, they'd do it. For instance, when a boy told Roll to shut up, she didn't talk until she was asked to by a teacher. Or how when one of Rock's neighbors told him to give them an answer, he did it. Rachel bit into her toast. Something didn't feel right about those two, but she couldn't quite place it. It was almost as if…

She was brought back from her thoughts when her father spoke.

"Rachel? Please chew with your mouth closed."

She flushed and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Dad."

He swallowed a bite of egg before speaking. "Did you see the thing on the news about that missing robot?" She shook her head. "I think they called him Proto Man, as in prototype. That must mean that he's pretty old, if he's the prototype for the Robot Master line."

Rachel was totally lost. "Robot… Master?" A master over robots? She'd never heard of such a thing. Her father was a mechanic, however, so he was generally more informed with this sort of thing.

Her father's eyes sparkled. "Why, the Robot Masters are a series of very advanced robots created by the brilliant Dr. Light. They were made to help humans in various areas, their functions ranging from a simple housekeeper to running nuclear power plants. But they're no ordinary household or industrial robots, oh no. These robots have sentience. _They're alive."_

Living robots? Now she was really confused. "But how can a robot be alive?" she asked.

"The same way as you or me. They have a consciousness, a sense of self, a will. Yes, robots do have to abide by their programming, and these are no exception. They have the Three Laws. But they do have some freedom of choice, provided by their Artificial Intelligence, or AI. Now, what creates their will, their personality? No one is really sure. That's probably why they were ordered to be destroyed." He looked somewhat sad at that.

Rachel gasped. "Destroyed?! But you just said they're living beings! Wouldn't destroying their entire line be genocide?!" she exclaimed.

"Fear," her father explained, "Fear is why they were destroyed. People were afraid of the possibilities, of what they could do. It didn't help that a madman had stolen and made many of his own Robot Masters for his insane ideas." He scowled, and took a sip of his coffee.

"Why wouldn't they just hunt down and destroy his Robot Masters instead?" Rachel's ten year-old mind couldn't understand why someone would destroy a perfectly innocent race.

"Because no one could stand up to them. No human, at least. Only one person faced them; fought his own kind because he felt that what they were doing was wrong."

"What happened to him?" Rachel asked timidly, afraid to know the answer.

"Destroyed with the others, supposedly." After seeing his daughter looking puzzled, he elaborated. "Well, with how they thought this Proto Man was destroyed, who knows? Maybe he's still out there somewhere."

Rachel pondered over the information she had just received. There was an entire race of living robots, and the government ordered them destroyed. Now they're looking for the only survivor, both the first and last of his kind. _He must be so lonely,_ she thought. She vowed to help him if she ever came across him, and found herself wondering if he'd be able to tell her more about these Robot Masters and what they were like. Suddenly, she remembered something her father had said that intrigued her.

"You mentioned something about the Three Laws? What are those?"

"The Three Laws of Robotics state that a robot cannot harm a human, must take any order from a human unless it conflicts with the First Law, and must protect its own existence unless it conflicts with the First or Second Law. It seems rather constraining, in my opinion."

That sounded familiar. But… why? She had never met any robots, had she?

* * *

 _"'Fear,' her father explained. 'Fear is the [path to the dark side].'"_


End file.
